Deadline passes for TPB renewal

Planners who failed to renew their registration with the TPB by January 1 are putting their businesses in jeopardy if they continue to provide tax-related advice to their clients.

In mid-December, the TPB confirmed there were still 7300 tax (financial) advisers who had not renewed their registration with the national body. TPB chair Ian Taylor says advisers who failed to renew must stop charging for advice about the tax implications of strategies.

“They will need to lodge a new application and wait for it to be approved before they can legally provide tax (financial) advice services for a fee,” Taylor says.

Unregistered advisers who provide advice for fee or reward face fines of up to $52,500, for an individual adviser, and $262,500 for a corporate authorised representative. They also face fines of up to $10,500 for an individual adviser if they claim to “provide a tax agent service, BAS [business activity statement] service or tax (financial) advice service”.

Late last year, the TPB stated it was in the process of working through submitted renewal applications but advisers who had met the deadline would remain registered until a decision had been made.